Generosity Begins With the Heart

WE WERE CREATED TO BE GENEROUS

Who is the most generous person you’ve ever known?

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Because the most generous people aren’t necessarily the people who have the most. They’re the people who have learned to live with an open heart.

And here’s something else I’ve discovered…..Generous people are the kind of people you want to be around!

We admire generosity……We celebrate it when we see it…..And we love being on the receiving end of it!

But here’s the question:

If we admire generosity so much, why is it sometimes so difficult for us to be generous?

Generosity is not simply something we do with our possessions……..Generosity is a way of living.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

We learn to care about what He cares about……We learn to see people the way He sees people.

Acts 20:35: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

A generous life is a blessed life, not because we get everything we want, but because we’re becoming more like the God who gave us everything we need in Jesus.

Generosity doesn’t begin in your wallet. It begins in your heart.

Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Everything flows from the heart. Your priorities……Your relationships………Your decisions………Your generosity.

IT ALL STARTS WITH THE HEART.

Whatever captures your heart will eventually influence how you Spend (time, treasure) your Life.

Why? Because it’s something I enjoy. Something I value.

And isn’t that true about so many things in life?

When something has our heart, giving our time, attention, and resources to it doesn’t feel like an obligation.

If I can so easily give my time, attention, and resources to something as temporary as a game of golf, how much more should I want to give my first and best to the God who has given everything for me?

• Whatever has first place in your heart will eventually influence every other area of your life.
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Proverbs 3:5–10 (NIV)

5 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.

8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;

10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”

• Before God asks us to honor Him with what we have, He teaches us to trust Him with who we are.
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  s.

Our generosity becomes an expression of our trust in God.

9  “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops.”

WHY DOES GOD ASK FOR THE FIRST?

Because giving the first required something.

Giving God the first is a declaration that we trust Him with what comes next.

That’s why the principle of firstfruits is so powerful

Jesus said something that brings all of this together.

Matthew 6:33 (NIV) “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Why is giving sometimes so difficult?

• We must deal with a SELFISH HEART.

Deuteronomy 15:7–8 (NKJV) “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.”

Now, I want you to notice something.

God connects two things…..A hardened heart and a closed hand.

Deuteronomy 15:9 (NKJV “Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the LORD against you, and it become sin among you.”

 

God was teaching His people not to allow the fear of losing something to keep them from loving someone.

When fear becomes the controlling influence in our lives, generosity becomes the first thing we sacrifice.

• WE MUST DEAL WITH A GRIEVING HEART
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Deuteronomy 15:10 (NKJV) “You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand.”.

Notice what God says.

Not only should you give.

Your heart should not be grieved when you give.

And God says, “I want to do something in your heart so that you can give freely.”

We are not the owners of everything we have. We are stewards of what God has entrusted to us.

Psalm 24:1 (NIV) “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”

We begin to ask: “God, how do You want me to manage what You’ve entrusted to me?”

OWNERSHIP VERSUS STEWARDSHIP

The tighter we hold on to possessions, the more power they can have over us.

But when we learn to hold them with open hands, we discover a new kind of freedom.

Matthew 6:21: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Generosity doesn’t just reveal where our hearts are. It can help redirect where our hearts go.

• WE MUST DEVELOP A GENEROUS HEART
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Deuteronomy 15:12-14 (NKJV)

12 “If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed;”You shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the LORD your God has blessed you with, you shall give to him.”

GENEROSITY LOOKS BEYOND OURSELVES

I think one of the greatest things that can happen in our spiritual lives is when we begin to see what we have as an opportunity to bless someone else.

You don’t have to be wealthy to be generous.

• Generosity is not about having more than everybody else. It’s about being willing to share what God has entrusted to you.
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When we give, we get to participate in what God is doing in somebody else’s life.

Luke 6:35–36 (NIV) “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

God was generous toward us long before we ever became generous toward Him.

• WE MUST DEVELOP A GRATEFUL HEART

Deuteronomy 15:15 (NKJV) “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today.”

I want you to notice one word.  REMEMBER.

Everything good in my life is evidence of God’s grace at work.

Because when you understand how much you’ve received, you begin to discover the joy of giving.

Gratitude remembers what grace has given, and generosity shares what love has received.

 

WHAT or Who HAS YOUR HEART?